The prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 3,511,208 issued May 12, 1920 to O. C. Woodruff and U.S. Pat. No. 4,295,385 issued Oct. 20, 1981 to G. H. Huttenhow which relate to the general subject matter of this invention.
Woodruff discloses an electric trolling motor that may be moved by a foot pedal to effect steering of the boat, and Huttenhow discloses a control for moving a trolling motor, the control having a low profile and including a rotatable plate adapted to be moved by the shoe of an operator.
The normal equipment on a fishing boat includes an outboard motor of substantial horsepower so that the boat may be driven to the fishing grounds as quickly as possible. The equipment also includes a battery for starting the motor, gasoline tanks and many items necessary for fishing and for the comfort of the fisherman.
With this amount of equipment, easy and effect manueverability of the boat becomes a problem, particularly when moving in and out of tight spots in the narrow confines of lake of stream. On the other hand, it is desirable that the fisherman have both hands free to concentrate on fishing and that he need not take his eyes off a likely fishing locality to locate steering and speed controls.
My invention provides the above desirable features in a simple foot control that may be mounted on a short deck at the bow of the boat and be engaged by the shoe of an operator to selectively effect both steering and operation of the trolling motor. Fishermen, particularly those fishing for bass, like to stand on the deck so as to have a clear view of the water for some distance around the boat. Heretofore a pedal-like control was provided for steering the boat, somewhat along the lines of an accelerator pedal on an automobile, except that the pedal was pivotally mounted on the deck at the bow of the boat. The pedal had an electric switch actuator extending from its upper surface and the fisherman was required to place his foot on the switch and then depress the pedal, and this was difficult to do in a standing position because the fisherman was completely off balance.
In contrast, the control of my invention has a very low profile so that the fisherman may operate it while fully balanced. Further, the control includes a footplate that is shiftably mounted and may be simultaneously depressed to actuate an electric switch within the control box.